During this time we have all had to make difficult decisions about work and life. Being self-employed is a double edged sword. You have the freedom of being your own boss, but you have no fixed income, no holiday or sick pay. This is two sided-ness has been highlighted during the Covid 19 pandemic. I can keep myself as safe as I want, but I will lose out on potential income. I do at least have my fate in my own hands, I know others aren’t so lucky. They feel a pressure to go back to work if others have deemed it safe for them to do so.

What is changing now?

So now that more lockdown restrictions have been eased, what does that mean for Andrew Bert Greaves Photography? Well, to start with Edington Farm Shop has reopened, so you can once again buy my cards from there, whilst also buying some of there more essential items. Their opening hours have changed, so check them before you go. Of course they have measures in place to keep everyone safe, so be mindful of that fact too.

I am able to do photo shoots again. While I can, according to the guidelines, do these indoors I will only be doing outdoor shoots. This is safest for everyone, as it means that proper social distancing can be maintained. This does make it weather dependent, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue at this time of the year, even in the UK (hopefully).

I am now selling to countries outside the UK again through my shop and through Etsy. As mentioned in a previous blog, I stopped selling overseas as I felt this was safest for all concerned. But now as things are easing, it seems the right time to open up that part of my business again.

Decision making

When lockdown started, I changed several things about how I run my business. Some of those were because of the government’s measures, and others were based on my own decisions aimed at keeping people safe. There were things that I could have carried on doing but chose not to.

I keep up to date with the latest government advice and use that to inform my decisions about how to safely run my business. But just because the government say that we are now allowed to do something, doesn’t mean to say that we should. The overriding thing for the UK government right now is the economy and it is that is driving their easing of lockdown measures. But to me changing too much too quickly isn’t going to end well. So I am still being cautious.

I will continue to keep up to date with the situation and what the government is saying. I will also listen to what advice and concerns are raised by other groups that are well informed and take that on board in making decisions about extending my services and range of products in the future. At the same time, being mindful that it may be necessary to pull things back and reduce what I do. The situation is fluid and being flexible is important going forward. Stay safe and stay sane.

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How things were

At the time that Blue Planet 2 came out, all my cards were in plastic to protect them from damage. No matter where I sold them. It was all the same if it was in person, online or at Edington Farm Shop, which stocks my cards. Please note that the farm shop is currently closed due to Coronavirus.

What I changed – the easy bits

The first thing I did was stop sending out my online orders in plastic sleeves. I send out my orders well packaged in ‘Please Do Not Bend’ envelopes, so the extra protection wasn’t really necessary. The next thing to consider was selling to people in person. The whole point of having them in plastic is so they don’t get damaged while people are looking at them. So my solution for this was to have a set of my cards in plastic that people can browse, but when they buy them, they get one without a plastic sleeve. 

What I changed – the less easy bits

That solution is fine selling them myself, but wouldn’t work for the shop environment. I could sell them loose, but they would get damaged and the envelopes would get separated. The first thing I did was to look into biodegradable packaging. I found varying reports of how long it would actually last for. Also they were more than 4 times the price of the plastic packaging. I know I shouldn’t put profits before the environment, but I am running a business, so I have to think about the financial side of thing every now and again. It wasn’t just about profits, but also about cash flow. How much I could afford to spend at that particular time. I decided to search for other solutions. As I had a good stock of plastic sleeves and I was using less of them already, I had time to see what I could find. 

I experimented with using card and paper bands to keep the card and its envelope together. This seemed to work for keeping them together. However, it didn’t help with the problem of protecting them as shoppers browsed them. So I kept thinking and experimenting and googling possible solutions. I kept coming back to the environmentally friendly plastic. I looked at different suppliers and finally found one that was only 3 times what I had previously paid for the plastic sleeves, if I bought double the usual amount. That was from Eco-Craft, so I placed an order with them. It would would reduce my profit, but I felt it was the right thing to do for the environment. Also, I reasoned that the more people that made the switch to green plastics, the more readily available they will become and hopefully they will become more affordable.

And so back to now

That all happened in 2018. I did intend to write a blog about it at the time, but alas, I didn’t get around to it. I now get my biodegradable sleeves from Redcliffe Imaging, which is where I get my cards printed. Does this mean that all my cards are now in biodegradable plastic? The answer is sadly no. Because of the seasonal nature of cards, and the fact that I am using a lot less of them, means that I still have some cards in old non-biodegradable sleeves. I feel it is better to use these up, as to not would be an even greater waste of plastic. I am sure there are more ways I can help the environment, and I will continue to look for ways of doing that going forward.

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This is something I have been working on for a long time, but I kept coming up against technical problems. Since moving my web hosting, things have been somewhat easier, although not without a certain number of challenges. In fact every problem I solved seemed to present me with at least one more challenge to overcome. But now it is done and ready for you to have a look at and, hopefully you will feel inspired to make a purchase.

Why set up my own shop?

I currently sell through Etsy so why set up my own webshop?

Well, one reason is that it will allow me to offer a wider range of products. With Etsy there is a listing fee for every item that is listed (regardless of whether the item sells, or not). So, with my own shop I can sell more items without having to worry about cashflow so much. Having my own online shop also allows me to offer my own deals, discounts and offers. While I can (and do) have offers and discounts from time to time with my Etsy store, the options are limited. With my own webshop I can offer discounts like 3 cards for £5.

Will I still be selling through Etsy?

As having a shop on my own website is so great, will I still be selling on Etsy? Yes, is the simple answer. The reason for that it has a much wider reach than I can (currently) achieve on my own site. People will find my work through Etsy that would otherwise not see it. It is also a name that people trust, which is an important thing when people are shopping online. So for the time being I will continue to sell my work through Etsy.

What can you find in my shop right now?

I am currently selling cards and unframed and unmounted prints. I haven’t extended my product range too much from what is available on Etsy. This is partly due to Covid-19 and to ensure that I have the capacity to cope with incoming orders. But I will add to my products over the coming weeks and months. What I can offer right now is discounts on cards. You can now buy 3 cards for £5, 6 cards for £10 or even 10 cards for £15. Just add the relevant coupon code in your cart or at the checkout: 3CardsFor£5, 6CardsFor£10 or 10CardsFor£15. Also until 22 June 2020 you can get 10% prints by using the coupon code 10%OffPrints.

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So I thought I should write something about how Covid 19 has affected me and my business. I should probably start by saying I know how lucky I am. Only one person I know has ended up in hospital with Covonavirus, and they are back home now and all is good. I know that so many other people have not been so lucky. I am also fortunate that my job doesn’t expose me to the risk of catching Covid 19 on a daily basis like NHS staff, carers and other keyworkers. 

And now for something completely different

Now this is a story all about how
My life got flipped, turned upside down,
So won’t you take a minute, just sit right there,
I’ll tell you how I got stuck at home because of Covid-19
In West Wiltshire born and raise
Taking photos was how I spent most of my days
Checking apertures, exposures, and all
And shooting some photos that looked pretty cool
When this one bad virus that was up to no good,
Started making trouble in all our neighbourhoods
We got in one big fight and everybody was scared
And the WHO said stay inside and don’t go out there…

With apologies to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. I just thought I would have a little fun with that to lighten the mood.

What has changed

When the lockdown in the UK started, I stopped selling prints of my work. I did this so I wouldn’t have to go to the post office to dispatch orders, as I felt it wasn’t worth the risk to anyone’s health, as I explained in a previous blog. I also stopped selling to countries outside the UK for the same reason. Obviously, I can’t go very far to take photos and I can’t take photos of people.

I decided that the best thing to do was to treat this as a unique opportunity. There was now time to do all the things I hadn’t done because I didn’t have the time. Also, I could use the time in a way which meant that when the lockdown was over, I wouldn’t have to spend anytime at home (unless I wanted too).

I tried to throw myself into work and carry on as though nothing had changed. I gave myself lots of tasks to keep myself busy. However, as time wore on, and the lockdown was extended I started to find it hard to get it all done. This seemed odd to me, I had the time to do it, so why couldn’t I just do it? I realised that it was because I was putting too much pressure on myself. This isn’t a time for getting stuff done, it is a time for looking after yourself and those you care about. Of course, keeping busy is a big help in dealing with these uncertain times, but there shouldn’t be any extra pressure to do more. And so I have taken a step back, and taken the pressure off myself, and by trying to do less, I am able to do more.

What I have been doing

I have planted potatoes and I’ve been clapping on a Thursday night with my neighbours. As you may have noticed, I have started blogging regularly (ish). There was a time when I had to fixed the toilet. I have re-designed my website. I have made a start on a project I’ve had in mind for about a year. I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking, probably too much, because thinking too much is something I am good at. But mostly I’ve been trying to look after myself and my other half, and those I care about, even if it’s only by checking that they are OK. Oh, and I’ve been drinking tea.

Hope going forward

It seems that things are getting better. All the Covid 19 numbers that we want to be seeing going down are. Of course it’s not over by a long way. However, things seem a little more hopeful and we can start to think about coming out on the other side. It might be a long way off, but we can still start thinking about it. I have started selling prints again. I am only selling relatively small unframed and unmounted prints. This is so I can just put them in a post box and not have to make a trip to the Post Office. I am still only selling to the UK. You can see what is available in my Etsy store. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please stay safe and I hope we will be able to play outside soon.

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Back in January, you know, before the world went crazy and we were allowed to interact with other human beings, I was lucky enough to do a photo shoot with new band The Lost Trades. Although the band was new, the band members were not. I’m not saying they are old, just that I already knew them. I have shot photos with two of them before, Phil Cooper and Jamie R Hawkins. The third member, Tamsin Quin, I had met at gigs in the past. Now they have combined their musical talents to form The Lost Trades.

The plan – as much as there was one

The band were filming a live video session with Dug at Bentham Studios. I went along to take photos while they were recording, and then do a photo shoot once they were finished.

What I wanted to capture was the sense of fun and enjoyment that they get from playing together. That was something that really came across and I wanted to show that in the images I did for them.

It was here that I was going to write about how I approach doing a photo shoot with a band. And I did. However, I soon realised that I had a lot I wanted to write about the subject. So, rather than getting away from the original point of this blog, I’ll write another one about it.

How the day went

I travelled to the studio with Phil, so upon arrival I did some roadying from Phil’s car into the studio. This was interspersed, with hellos, introductions and re-introductions. The next thing to happen was that tea was made, which I found very pleasing. The band and Dug set up while I took some shots, to get exposure levels and the feel for the layout of the room. I did my best not to get in the way and soon they were sound checking, with another round of teas.

In the end I only took photos of them while they were sound checking and not when they were actually recording. I would have got in the way of the video cameras, probably put them off, and the sound of my shutter would have picked up in the recording. So while they recorded, I sat in the control room with Dug, listening to the beautiful harmonies and drank tea.

The photo shoot

Once they had finished recording, we used the lovely wood clad studio as a background. Taking a variety of shots, some very posed and almost formal.

Other shots were much more relaxed and casual. They could be considered ‘outtakes’, but it is those candid, unguarded moments that give an insight into the sense of enjoyment the band have when together.

We then took things outside to add a bit of variety, so we made use of the surrounding open fields.

Next we took the opportunity to make use of what else was available around the studio, mainly an old piano.

This is the moment the piano was spotted.

Although you can’t go and see The Lost Trades live at the moment, you can still check them out and catch one of their live streams. You can also check out Phil’s, Jamie’s and Tamsin’s solo work as well.

In conclusion…

…tea was drunk…

… recordings were made…

…fun was had…

…photos were taken…

…and don’t forget to check out The Lost Trades.

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When I started on the redesign of my website we weren’t all staying at home to avoid spreading coronavirus. But that is where we find ourselves now, and it is in that world that I am sharing with you my redesigned website. However, these strange times we are living in mean my plans for my website have changed slightly.

Why the redesign?

There were two main driving forces behind the redesign of my website. The first reason was that with a new website I could illustrate what I do better. The second was that I wanted to incorporate a shop into my website so I could sell directly to you without using a third party site.

This redesign has been a long time coming. I have made several attempts in the past but I have always come up against problems that I didn’t have the time to overcome. So now, having moved servers, sorted out my sites SSL certificate, and redesigned the site, here is my new website.

I have gone for a simpler layout, with less clutter and distraction. I have switched around the colour scheme, which hopefully makes it easier to read.

How have my plans changed because of coronavirus?

Well, as it stands there are only a few pages at the moment, and the plan was to add more over the coming months. The next page that I was going to add was going to be my own webshop. This was one of the biggest reasons for revamping my website. However I rely on going to the Post Office to post anything ordered that is bigger than a card and for anything going overseas, and following government advice to only make necessary journeys, I am only selling cards at the moment. So this doesn’t feel quite the right time to start the webshop. However, I will continue to monitor things and see if I can find a way of dispatching prints that is safe for all. For now, I am still selling cards through Etsy. 

What will I be doing now?

Instead of working on the shop next, I have decided to work on and share a couple of projects with you. One is a project that I started a long time ago, but has never seen the light of day. The other one is a new project that I have been planning for a little while and now seems a good time to start it, as I won’t be leaving the house for a while. I will write more about both projects in future blogs.

So, please have a look around  my redesigned website and let me know what you think.

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2017 – what have I done?

Well, looking back at the blog I wrote at the start of 2017, it seems things didn’t really go according to plan.

I had intended to give my website a complete overhaul in 2017 and add a shop. While I did manage to redesign my website, I didn’t manage to add the shop because I encountered a number of problems. I ran out of server space and once I overcame that issue, I was then unable to find a third party shop interface with safe and secure card transaction facilities that I could (with my limited web design and development knowledge) make work to my liking.

Another thing that I failed to do was to write this blog regularly. I had thought that doing it once a month would be manageable, but I failed to do that. I’m not sure why I didn’t manage it, time just seemed to get away from me.

Also, my experiment of using Redbubble to sell my images was something that didn’t work out. I’m not sure why it didn’t. Perhaps it was because I didn’t promote it enough. Maybe it just isn’t the right platform for me to sell my work. Whatever the reason, it didn’t work for me. I’m going to keep the store open for now and see if anything changes.

That was all a bit negative, wasn’t it? Well, now for the more positive stuff that I did in 2017.

Although selling my images through Redbubble didn’t seem to work for me in 2017, selling through my Etsy shop did. My sales increased, along with my product range. If you head over there to have a look before 31st January 2018, you can get 30% off orders over £15.

I’ve started selling images through a photo library. I started contributing images to it in 2016, but it was in 2017 that my images started to sell. A lot of work goes in to choosing images and preparing them for an image library. It’s work that isn’t seen by anyone else, but it has now started to pay off for me, which is always gratifying.

Also in 2017 I started selling my cards at the Three Daggers Farm Shop in Eddington, Wiltshire. They currently stock 12 different designs of my cards, and the designs they carry will change roughly every three months or so.

I did a number of photo shoots with bands and musicians, which was something I planned to do and actually managed to see though. I did photo shoots with Jamie R Hawkins, Phil Cooper and Scout Killers. 

Another thing I did in 2017 was my first craft fair. I had hoped to do more than one in the run up to Christmas, but I was about a week or so too late applying so they were mostly already fully booked. I did manage to do one, which was local to me and was only on for a few hours so it was a good introduction into what it takes to do a craft fair.

Learning

Something else I did was learn. Somewhere, I can’t remember where, I read an ‘inspirational quote’. It said something like ‘running a business without advertising is like winking at a woman in the dark, only you know you are doing it.’ Which, despite the weird winking at women thing, made me realise I really need to promote myself better. I think that is something I started to do.

Thank you

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support. I will try to write my blog more regularly. My next one will be about what I intend to do in 2018.

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Where did the year go? I’m sure I had all 12 months of it here just a moment ago… Nope, I just checked and they have gone.

Well, what to make of the year?

In general it seems that it wasn’t people’s favourite year. Politically some interesting decisions were made on both sides of the Atlantic by the voting public, so 2017 and beyond will be very … interesting.
The year also saw the passing of many people we all look up to and admire, particularly from the worlds of film, TV and music. I fear that this will sadly be a trend that will continue because many of those we look up to have lead very long and full lives.

And what about me?

Well, this year did seem to go really fast. Much of the what I intended to do ended up on the back burner, while I tried to keep pace with life. One of the things I did do was to set up a store on the online retailer Etsy, so it is now easier to own my work.

In the latter half of the year I spent a lot of time focusing on me and I don’t mean self portraits. I am not only an introvert, but can also be shy too (no, they aren’t the same thing). This can make selling myself and my work more of a challenge, which has obvious downsides in a business. I have now started to understand myself better which means I can make the most of my strengths and also overcome my weaknesses. I haven’t by any means conquered it entirely, but I feel I’ve made significant progress. This is starting to sound like a self help blog. But sometimes you’ve got to help yourself, because no one else can do it for you.

Photos

I think I’ll stop with the words now, and finish with some photos. 12 photos in fact, a favourite from each month of the year, I hope you enjoy.

Tell The Hoi playing at The Nest, Bath January 2016

Cows in a muddy field, Wiltshire, February 2016

A jumping Spider next to a Ladybird on leaves, Wiltshire, March 2016

Close up of a mute swan’s head, April 2016

The Bohos playing at The Parade Gardens, Bath for Bath Music Festival’s Party In The City, May 2016

Red bicycle in a field, Wiltshire, June 2016

Neville Staple Band, Village Pump Folk Festival, 2016

A bee on a blue-spirea ‘Worcester Gold’ flower, Wiltshire, August 2016

A close up of a garden spider (Araneus diadematus) on it’s web, Wiltshire, September 2016

The Model Folk playing at the Stallards, Trowbridge, October 2016

Roses covered in frost, Wiltshire, November 2016

Twisted State Of Mind playing at The White Swan, Trowbridge, December 2016

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Having decided on an outdoor shoot, and it being October and in England, this didn’t give us a lot of scope when rearranging the photoshoot, so we ended up deciding to do it before Phil played a gig at the Seven Stars in Bristol, as the weather was forecast for that day was for it to be dry, if not bright.

We drove into Bristol Sunday lunch time, aiming to get there at about 12:30. Phil needed to be at the venue for his gig by about 3ish, so that gave us plenty of time. Well, it would have done if we didn’t hit horrendous traffic as we got to Bristol, which we hadn’t been expecting. As we finally got closer to the centre, some time after one o’clock, we noticed signs informing us that the Bristol to Bath Marathon had started in the centre of Bristol earlier that morning, and further signs told us that a lot of the roads had been closed until lunch time, so we at least had an explanation for the surprising numbers of cars on the road. This all meant that we had less time for doing the photoshoot, but first we needed a cup of tea, because we like tea.

Despite the somewhat curtailed time frame for getting the shoot done, we had a relaxed wander along the Bristol Harbourside looking for suitable locations, which we duly found, shooting first at one, and then another. It was all quite straight forward really, we were going for fairly simple images, but with impact and connection. I thought I’d share some of the “outtakes” from the shoot.

I don’t know exactly what it was that made Phil have this reaction, but I’m  guessing it’s because I’m really funny…

At no point did Phil get bored…

I’m not sure what he was looking for, and he won’t tell me if he managed to find it.

This is a photo of Phil stifling a laugh, because apparently me lying on the cold ground and taking photos of him is something that Phil finds amusing.

Anyway after the successful shoot we went to the Seven Stars for Phil’s gig. At the time I thought I was seeing double because of the cider, but this photo proves it was just a mirror.

To see which photo from the shoot made it on to the front cover of Phil’s new album have a gander at his website here and if you want to see which photos made it into the sleeve notes, well you’ll just have to buy a copy, won’t you?

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As we walked from the bit where you paid for Dismaland and to the actual entrance of the former Tropicana site, I got stopped for a bag search, which is what we’ve come to expect in recent years wherever you go. As well as the things you’d normally expect them to be looking for, they were also looking for pens and anything you might be able to use to deface the art works with. They were also interested in the size of the lens on my camera. The lens I had on was my 28 – 300mm zoom lens, which is a chunky bit of kit. The security person conducting the search (I say search, he never once touched my possessions as I was willingly showing him the contents of my bag) looked at it and said something along the lines of, ‘Hmmm, I think that might be too big. They don’t like it if you’ve got too big a lens.’

I was a little taken aback as I had checked the website before going to make sure I would be allowed to take my camera, and I didn’t see any mention about restrictions. I looked at the man in question in a slightly puzzled way and he sort of shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don’t really know about these things, but they might ask you to leave.’ I wasn’t going to argue with him, as he was just doing his job (and he was also a lot bigger than me). ‘I’ve got a smaller lens, will that be OK?’ I asked, more concerned about avoiding having to traipse back to my car if I couldn’t take it in, than I was with not being able to take my camera in with me. ‘They’ll probably be OK with that,’ He said. So I changed my lens outside, in the wind blowing off the sand (mud) of the beach – with a few spots of rain thrown in for good measure – before carrying on into Dismaland.

I spent some time thinking through the reasoning behind me having to change my lens, and to an extent I can understand it; they don’t want people taking photos of artwork and making prints to sell, meaning the artists miss out on income. But my ability to do that, should I have wanted to do that, would not have been hampered by putting on the different lens. Also, most camera phones are capable of producing images of high enough quality to reproduce prints theses days, so the whole thing seemed very odd. I guess they couldn’t stop people using their phones, people suffer some kind of anxiety attack if they have have their phones off for five minutes these days.

I went there as both a person interested in the art work and as a photographer. As a member of the public who likes art, I took photos of the artwork on display. These images I won’t be sharing, other than with close friends and family, as they act as a record of things I have seen; most people taking photos do so for the memories.

As a photographer (artist) I took photos of what I observed in that particular environment, at that moment in time. You may well be asking yourself what the difference is. Taking photos of other people’s artwork isn’t artistic. Other people’s artwork can constitute a part of your photograph, but only if you’re adding a different context to it or making it a small part of something much larger. Here is a selection of photos from that day spent in Dismaland.

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